A Twisted Road to Love: Book 1
by The Bride of constant Vigil
Summary: Mina and Ash meet up years after the accident. Only for Ash to find Mina engaged to some new person. Find out how crazy their love story is, as the two travel down the Twisted Road to Love
1. Chapter 1

An Old Friend

Mina sang the lyrics to one of her favorite songs. She had been singing at the same bar all night, was it too much to ask for a break? Mina is a yellow mongoose with purple hair. She had green-blue eyes that seemed to shine in the dark. Both her ears were pierced with two golden earrings, her purple hair up in a high pony-tail. Mina was wearing a green and purple mini skirt. She wore a black top that was hidden under her purple and green jacket.

As the song ended the cheers began. Mina took a mini bow and jumped off stage. "Hit me," the girl said. "I don't wanna leave here sober," Mina replied half ditzy. She wanted to forget everything about what was going on in life.

Nervously Mina looked down at the golden ring on her left ring finger. A sigh escaped her lips as she took a slow sip of her margarita. Yes, it is true, she is getting married. The whole thought of her living with someone else forever made her feel slightly better, or worse. She wasn't too sure.

Five years, she thought, five years since she had left the Sonic gang. Life had been so much better, yet she felt so incomplete and guilty. What had she done or forgotten those five years ago that made her feel so bad inside. Mina got up half drunk, she lazily trudged to the stage and got the microphone. Once again she was singing, this time the words were slurred, she had no clue as to what she was singing.

The door opened and closed, but Mina's vision was too blurred to tell who it was. Mina's legs were starting to shake, maybe she was going to get her wish and leave the bar drunk. Without noticing Mina collapsed. A gasp left everyone's appalled mouth.

"She's drunk," someone screamed. Mina lay on the ground completely unconscious. Another yellow mongoose quickly jumped to the stage and ran to Mina's side. He quickly preformed a few tests before concluding that she would be okay.

With that everyone preceded to leave the club leaving only the two mongooses in the scene of the catastrophe.

The male mongoose lightly picked up Mina in a bridal style; he had to get her somewhere safe, somewhere where only they would be together, so that nothing bad would happen. The mongoose though, never strong, always gained strength when he had to rescue this innocent girl, to be honest that is what happened five years ago.

Mina woke up in a low lit room. She had a headache and it seemed as if her head were spinning. The room had a musky feel to it, giving her the urge to upchuck. But, the real thing in the mongoose's head was what just happened. She tried getting up, but felt light-headed and quickly laid down again.

"W-Where am I," asked Mina weakly. She wanted to get out of this place, but a familiar thought and scent reached her nose. It was a scent that made her want to stay; it was a part of her past that she always tried to hold onto. Was it the way Sonic used to hold her? Or how he would treat her? Maybe it was the support of all her friends, no, it wasn't. The scent reminded her of someone familiar, an important guy in her life. And it definitely wasn't her fiancé Brick.

"Mina are you okay," asked a familiar voice. Mina immediately recognized the voice as her old manager. The girl perked up a little bit, forgetting about her light-headedness she got up and tried looking for the other mongoose. But, her search proved futile when she remembered her balance was off and nearly fell. Luckily, the other mongoose caught her, just before she hit the ground.

Mina could feel her cheeks flush red, but she was still a little drunk so she didn't know exactly why? "A-A-Ash," murmured the now dazed mongoose. Ash smirked, looking down at the tiny mongoose. "Long time no see," Ash stated half lazily. Mina looked up, her cheeks getting redder each time she gazed at her old friend.

**Here is my latest story. I have millions more stories, but there is something very important that must be done. But for now I hope you enjoy the story, and notice that I write about forgotten characters. Now, see that button over there, press it and review! Thanks either way, but seriously, there is the button, use it to review.**


	2. Ash has a Secret

Ash poured a cup of water for Mina and gave her a slice of bread. The mongoose took the food cautiously, her stomach hurt, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to eat. "Food helps you sober up," Ash stated calmly. Mina nodded and started to eat.

"Why were you even there," Mina interrogated. Ash shrugged, "felt like having a drink." Mina glared at him, it had been so long, was he still the same person, was she even the same person? Truth be told, she had changed, she was still the loopy girl that she used to be, but now, all her problems were solved with alcohol. She would sing then drink, then sing again. This had been the third time she had been completely wasted.

A light gurgle sound was heard throughout the room before Mina threw up. The puke had the stench of alcohol in it, giving the stuffy room a disgusting odor. Ash jumped up, and went to start cleaning, while Mina sat there completely embarrassed. "I-I'm so sorry," she gasped. Ash glanced at her momentarily before returning to his cleaning. "Why does this keep happening to me," whined the mongoose. Ash's head quickly shot up to look at her.

Mina couldn't help but feel disappointed. Her drinking habits had become terrible lately. "What keep happening to you," Ash asked slightly impatient. Mina looked away, this wasn't the time, and she didn't feel well. "C-Can we talk about this at some other time," she muttered, her words coming out in a slur. Ash took a minute to think it over before finally nodding in agreement.

Mina then remembered her earlier question. "When you said you came in to get a drink, I just remembered that you don't live in this part of town," Mina investigated. Ash looked slightly annoyed; he wasn't in the mood to be spoken to. He shrugged, "I've been traveling, anything else you wanna know," he answered, the last part extremely firm. Mina shied off a little, a look of hurt sweeping across her face.

The night grew on, or if you would rather say it early morning. Mina finally sobered up and fell asleep, while Ash kept pacing across the room. He has lied, simple as that, and he was going to pay for his mistake in the near future. Things had changed with him; he had been hiding, from a stalker of some sort. He was no longer the well, how could he describe himself. He was no longer the wimp that stood alongside Mina thinking that he was enough. Five years away from the gang could really change a person, he was mature and stronger.

Mina all of a sudden woke up. "S-Something's coming," she warned. Ash looked worried, he knew exactly who it was following or coming for them. "Mina no time to explain, but we've gotta go," Ash warned. Mina got up, she would go, but she wasn't sure where she was going. "Ash, where are we going," Mina screamed over the ruckus of the new found noise. Ash didn't have the time to explain, so he forcefully grabbed the girl's wrist and took off out the trailer.

The sky outside was just starting to brighten, and the sun was just rising over the peaks. Ash looked up; he could tell what time it was, and the exact direction to go in. Mona on the other hand was furious, "Where do you think you're taking me," she screamed. Ash ignored her though; his main focus was to leave the area ASAP. He knew what was coming and knew exactly how to avoid it. If he kept going east, then he would be perfectly safe, and so would Mina. But, his last thought was cut off my Mina yanking her hand from his grip. Ash spun around quickly only to see Mina taking off at full speed.

"Mina," Ash screamed as he watched the girl disappear. He started to take off after her; gunshots were heard throughout the town. He started panicking, Mina was in the town, she could get hurt, and then he would've failed his mission. "Mina, wait your gonna get hurt," Ash screamed again. There hadn't been an answer and what really worried Ash was the dust starting to rise from the streets. So, he did the unthinkable, he ran in after Mina.

The dust and dirt on the street kicked up and continually hit Ash in the face. He started coughing rapidly, and he knew that meant that Mina hadn't made it very far. Ash kept going through the street, and made it to a small clearing. There he could just barely see what was going on, bare bullet shells laid all through the ground, and the smell of gun powder hung in the air. "Mina," he called, he needed to find her, he had to get her to the correct spot, or he would fail.

All of the sudden a quick gunshot was heard and Ash didn't have time to react. Time moved slowly, but Ash was unable to move. A scream was heard, but the source was quite unknown. Then with that Ash fell to the ground, blood starting to ooze from his abdomen.

Author's notes

For those who did, thanks for bearing with me. I've been quite busy lately and have been putting off my writing. But, teachers are giving less homework, and school is coming to a close, which means I will have more time to update stories. But trust me, the waits will still seem interminable, but I refuse to give up on a story, no matter how long it takes. So that's all for now, can't wait to see what you guys thought. So HIT THE REVIEW BUTTON.

Sorry I'm desperate for reviews.


	3. Trapped

Ash's eyes fluttered lightly as he tried to wake up fully. The smell of gunpowder was still present, but this had a musky feel to it. He tried pushing up to an upright position, but he struggled feeling slightly weak. Soon he pushed himself up, and ignoring the pain and lightheadedness, he got up.

He walked around, he was somewhere unknown, and right next to him was another body, completely covered in blood. Ash walked over to the body, it was faces down, which helped him to feel slightly better. But when he turned the head, it was none other than Mina.

Ash felt his heart skip a beat, but there was a new feeling. It was a strong sense of failure for letting her get hurt. Ash then skimmed over the goriest parts and found about seven bullet holes within the girl, none of them in major organ areas, besides the stomach. Ash knew what he had to do, he quickly removed the top he was wearing and tore it into pieces, covering all wounds with them.

He then tried to remove some of the blood stains off Mina's face using the remaining scraps. The blood was sticky, and hard to get off, causing Ash a slight struggle.

Once all the blood was gone Ash started to realize some things, mainly the fact that he was hungry as hell, and that his hair had grown too long. Mina's hair was curled, with a definite length difference, but parts of it stuck to her back and were covered by blood. Her body had a pale look to it, and her yellow fur seemed to look as I'd it were fading. Was it possible that she had died? He checked her pulse, he could feel it, but it was faint, so faint that he knew she would die by the end of the night.

Ash then got up and checked his surroundings; he was in a jail cell, concrete walls that were easily four feet think, and metal bar cells, that if you touched gave an electric shock. Ash had learned that the hard way.

Ash knew exactly what had happened and who had raided the city. He looked outside the cell, being careful not to touch it. State of the art cameras hung everywhere, but since he was here, he might as well have some fun with the camera. Ash dug in his pocket for something, before realizing that there was nothing there. He then checked his socks and shoes, nothing, all his back up weapons were gone. Of course they would have raided him to make sure that he wouldn't escape.

Ash turned around and walked over to Mina. "Why," he murmured, wondering why she had to run in town. They could've been almost there, or at least much further than they already were. Ash then shook Mina lightly; he couldn't let the girl die. But as he was inspecting Mina he found a ring on her finger. Ash tried taking it off to see what kind of ring it was, but the blood kept it there. Ash decided that he would ask later, when she was better, if she even got better.

Ash perked up when he remembered the fact that chances are the girl wouldn't last the night. He had to save her somehow. Ash then decided he would have to work at breaking the wall; he first though needed to check her breathing. Ash bent his head toward the girls open mouth, and he could hear the girl trying to stifle her breaths. They came out slow and as if forced, she definitely did not have much time left, and Ash knew that sitting still contemplating wouldn't help.

Spy school had helped Ash his strength, but this was definitely way too much. He scaled the wall, looking for any part that might be slightly weak, maybe a crack. He couldn't find one. This meant that he would need to find another way; Ash's next hope was to find an air vent. The male mongoose looked around the wall, nothing there; the air vent was outside, looking at him and making fun of him. Just when Ash thought that he was out of luck he heard some footsteps.

A man in navy was walking through the hall; he had nun-chucks and a taser on him. Ash smirked; this would be interesting, trying to beat someone with more weapons. That was when he heard the click to allow the gate open. The man came to get Ash, but Ash went for a direct punch in the face. The man easily sidestepped the counter and went in for a kick. Ash jumped out of the way, seeing the man pull out his nun-chucks. The man in navy struck at Ash's side, and got a direct attack. The pain seemed to catch Ash quickly, he looked to his side to see the bullet wound bleeding heavily again. The man in navy must've smirked behind his mask because after a while all of his attacks were directed at the same place. But Ash was wise, he already knew that, and dodged them easily. But on an easy dodge Ash took a misstep, and with that the guy pushed Ash back into the metal bars. Ash stumbled backwards and hit the bars; electricity ran through his entire blood stream, before he fell to his knees helpless. "I failed," he muttered under his breath.

The man in navy had a slightly maniacal laugh as he used the taser on Ash, Ash jumped from being struck by electricity twice. He then fell to the ground motionless. His injury had reopened fully, and he was bleeding heavily. The mongoose got dragged out of the room, and was brought into some other place.

Ash woke up, feeling even dizzier from blood loss. His vision was blurred, and even though he was seated he had trouble maintaining his balance. A bright light shone straight in the mongoose's eyes, causing him to squint. Ash turned his head away from the light, to see Mina in the chair right next to him.

All of Mina's blood was cleaned up, and it looked as though she had been brought back to perfect condition, but why wasn't she awake yet? Ash tried to ponder the different reason as to the girl still being out cold, but nothing came to mind. Another thing that started to worry Ash is that sooner or later he would have to explain the whole thing to her, how would she react?

As Ash pondered all these questions, he noticed someone else walk into the room. "So it seems that she has a new bodyguard, now does she?" The man said in a low snarling voice. Ash naturally tensed at the mention of his sworn enemy, Sonic the hedgehog. "Oh so you two still haven't come to even playing grounds," the man then teased. Ash sat still restricted by his chair, but he knew if he ever finished this mission, he would kill the man, especially if Mina died.

The guy could see the stricken look on Ash's face and smirked, c'mon Ash; I'm shocked that you don't remember me. Ash peered into the darkness that filled the rest of the room, he still couldn't make out the body shape of the other man, and it looked to him as if it were only him and Mina in the room. "Poor little Ash, everyone always has to stick up the rut of the litter," the guy continued to taunt. Ash was somewhat surprised; mongooses don't usually live in a group, which meant it could only be his best friend's older brother. "Chris I know that's you," Ash yelled into the darkness. There was a cynical laughter that filled up the room, "Of course it's me wimp, I want revenge," the guy stated much more seriously. Ash was slightly stunned; he knew exactly what Chris meant… it was Ash's fault for his sister's death.

Ash's eyes once again wondered over to Mina, "You want her, don't you?" Ash sighed, would be able to make it out alive himself. "You can always take me, but keep her alive," Ash offered. The guy laughed again, "Don't you think I've thought of that? It would be so much simpler to get rid of you, but where is the true fairness in that? If I take her life instead, then we would've both lost someone important, and we could then both forget this whole incident and go back to being friends," Chris retorted. Ash took all of this into consideration, but one thing really stood out, the two of them were never friends, in fact Chris used to beat him up. Another thing struck Ash also; these weren't the people he expected, which also meant that he had another group of people gaining on him every minute he waited. "No, that's just something I ain't gonna do," Ash answered, an evil smirk on his face.

Chris must've been crossed because he didn't answer right away. Instead, he took some time to ponder Ash's answer. "Well what are you going to do about it?" Chris challenged.

All through the fight Mina seemed trapped somewhere, she was stuck in her own little mind world. One thing she knew though was that she was on a path that ended with a bright, white light. Mina walked slowly, taking in all the beautiful nature surrounding her, she knew what the bright light was, and frankly, she wasn't quite ready for it. Instead Mina strayed off the path and sat under an orange tree. Mina then put her hand up and an orange fell into her palm. Slowly but surely Mina unpeeled the orange and started to eat the orange. How could this be happening? She was starting to lose it, she could even feel herself getting weaker, slowly getting tired, and yet at the same time getting more reckless.

An apple fell from a tree somewhere around and rolled straight toward her. Mina picked up the apple and looked around. How could there be an apple if there were no apple trees? Mina decided to investigate, pushing herself up off the ground; she started to tear through the trees at the hope of finding where the mysterious apple came from. But, this task was much harder then she thought. She was way too tired, and her strength kept wavering. Mina was so close, she knew it, and finally she tore open through what she thought to be the last row of trees and saw…

**Author's Notes**

**Man I have been lazy with my writing, and that was because of writers block. I found a simple solution to it though; all I have to do is put on my IPod and listen to "Papermoon." Well anyways, I guess you guys might be wondering what's going to happen next. I could tell you, but I suggest that you continue reading. I hope you guys didn't think I gave up, because I try to never give up on a story. Well anyways until my next story, please comment, I want to hear from you guys =]**


	4. Mother Nature

**Author's Notes:**

**Ok well so far, this has been a sucky story. My writing has been improving lately so hopefully this will be better. I also realize that most of my mistakes come from me typing the story in the notes section of my IPod. I will try to better, but now, back to the story.**

**Ash's arms were still tied behind his back, and he was still trying to unloose them. After working for a while Ash's wrists were sore, but he had finally gotten rid of the chains around his arms, and then started on the chains around his wrists.**

Mina stood staring in awe. "It-It's so beautiful," she murmured, falling to her hands and knees.

Before Mina stood a beautiful garden, giant oak trees, small ponds and rivers, and lush vegetation were everywhere, and Mina was just standing there trying not to faint. She felt so out of place, yet so at home. But this didn't make any sense to her, she was on the road to death, and now, she was in the most beautiful place in the universe. Was this the lost Garden of Eden?

"No," came a harmonious female voice. Another mongoose walked out of the vegetation and towards Mina. She like Mina was yellow, with long curly purple hair; in fact, she and Mina were almost exactly identical. "Do not be afraid," the woman said, when she saw Mina's startled mien, "In fact, I have been waiting for you for a few years now," continued the woman. "Wh-who are you?" Mina asked, trying to act braver then she sounded, but failing greatly.

"I am...Mother Nature," she said slowly. Mina's mouth dropped in awe, she had learned about Mother Nature as a young child, and was surprised to meet the legendary mongoose herself. As Mina stared in awe, she remembered what she had been told, Mother Nature wanted to see her. "Why do you want to see me...your highness?" Mina asked cautiously. Mother Nature let out a small chuckle, "Why Mina, haven't you noticed the similarities between us, it is time for me to pass the flame to you."

Mina was now completely immobilized. She, herself, was a direct descendant of Mother Nature. Out of course because of recent actions it's somewhat questionable if you should have the right to become Mother Nature, so I will give you a test," Mina nodded, understanding what she had done, trying to kill herself, not helping those she heard screaming, singing at a-a strip club. Why hadn't she realized the wrong in her ways earlier?

Mother Nature looked satisfied, and then noticed the ring on Mina's finger, her face quickly distorted, and Mina got scared. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "but as Mother Nature, your eternal duty is to Mobius, there is no place for love." Mina went mute and stared at her hand. She wouldn't be able to get married, or ever fall in love. "But! There must be a way, I can't just leave him behind," Mina whined.

Mother Nature just stood there shaking her head, "I will give you a week, and by then you must make your choice, if you say yes, you will become Mother Nature, but, if it is no, for you, your fate will be sealed." Mina nodded, what would she chose, this wasn't fair at all! And with that Mina snapped back to life, in Ash's arms.

Wh-where are we?" Mina murmured, still groggy and scared. Ash was walking briskly, blood flowing down his nose and side, he had somehow acquired a black eye, and had a slight limp, and this was not the Ash she knew. "Ash," Mina groaned, trying to get the mongoose's attention. Ash looked down to see Mina staring up at him, looking paler than before. "Mina?" he asked, "Do you want to settle down for the night?" Mina gave him a weak smile, and nodded slowly. Ash then settled by a tree, shivering lightly by the winds that were coming in.

Mina's stomach grumbled, and that's when the two realized that they both needed food. Ash got up, pulling himself together, found a pointy stick, and told Mina that he was going out hunting. Mina nodded and watched him go off.

Mina sat around waiting for a bit, and then decided that she should do something. She took some leaves from the trees nearby and started weaving. This is how the mongooses used to do everything, so it came naturally.

Ash soon returned to see two cots hanging between two trees, and two blankets. Ash turned to Mina in awe; he himself was holding two fish, and a non Anthro rabbit. Mina was staring at what he was holding, and felt bad for her petty contribution.

As Ash set the fire, Mina was finally able to ask Ash what was bothering her for a while now. "You seem so different, what's happened to you?" Ash stayed silent, and kept working at the fire; he finally got a spark and started a fire. Mina stared at him with green unblinking eyes, waiting for an answer. Ash turned to Mina and searched her eyes, deciding whether or not to trust her. "Life," Ash said roughly, keeping his answer vague, but hopefully enough to answer Mina's question.

Mina accepted the answer Ash gave her, but at the same time it bothered her. She knew that he wasn't telling her everything, but why wasn't he, is there a reason he would be so distant? Mina sighed, and then remembered what her commitment was to Mother Nature. Say yes and take on the responsibility of Mobius, or say no and forfeit her life. Mina decided that things were already tough enough for her, and pushed the idea to the back of her mind.

Ash was cooking the fish when he remembered the ring on Mina's finger. He looked to Mina to see the girl staring at the stars muttering to herself, her green eyes clouded by something, fear, confusion. Was this really the right time to ask?

Ash decided that waiting was the wrong thing to do, and just be forthright and say it. "Mina," he called, not even bothering to make eye contact with the girl. Mina snapped to attention and turned to face Ash, "Yes," she answered. "What's the purpose of the ring on your finger?" Ash asked. Mina went mute, was she ready to tell Ash about being engaged. They would only be together for a week anyway, so what difference did it make. "I'm engaged," Mina said a little more forcefully then intended. Ash, who really didn't care at the moment just replied, "Oh, congrats." Mina was happy to know that Ash didn't really care, but somehow disappointed. "Dinner's ready," Ash announced in the same blunt voice.

When Ash said that Mina remembered how hungry she was, and was happy to see a fish and rabbit leg on her plate (which she had recently woven). Mina started in on her food, and she ate quickly, Ash on the other hand took time to eat, making Mina look and feel fat.

After dinner Ash stomped out the fire, and announced he was going to bed. Mina on the other hand stared up at the stars, they were so pretty, she was now taking notice of every little thing in nature, and she was scared, what would the week bring? Mina decided to weave a bag for Ash, anything to get her mind off what was to come.

Hours passed and Mina got tired, she then decided to go to sleep. Mina crept over to her cot and crawled, encasing herself into the covers. That night though, Mina had a nightmare:

"I choose...No!" Mina stated proudly. Mother Nature didn't look happy, but accepted the answer. Mina was walking away from the garden ready to go to heaven when she felt something grab her arms. "What's going on!" she screamed. "I guess I wasn't clear, you aren't going to heaven Mina, you broke your prophecy, you are being wiped from existence, no one will remember you, and it'll be like you were never born." Mother Nature hissed. Mina was now screaming, trying to break free from her restraints. She was being pulled back into some black hole. "Help Me!" she screeched. "Silly child, no one can hear you, to them, they don't see this, or hear this, not even the dead." Mother Nature cackled. Mina then saw something moving quickly through the woods, it was coming her way. It couldn't be Sonic, he had left them, or well they had left him. Finally, the figure came into view, it was Ash, he lunged forward and grabbed Mina's waist, holding on for dare life. Ash was trying to fight back and whatever had caught Mina had let go of her arms to try and beat Ash off her waist. Mina quickly wrapped her arms around Ash's neck, she didn't want to go, and she was scared. Even with all the struggling the two went through, it was useless, she and Ash were dragged into the black portal, and then, Ash was gone, and she was alone...

Mina woke up screaming. Ash quickly hopped out of his cot and went to calm Mina down. When Mina saw Ash she flung her arms around him and started crying. Ash had to hush her, knowing that all her noise must've told everyone where they were, and that was what Ash feared most.

**Author's Note: **

**Well there's the chapter. Hopefully the rate in which I write will increase. I also plan to go back through this story, and enhance it, because it currently has terrible grammar and sucks...**


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